The guilty verdict brings relief and hope to
those who feared the criminal justice system would fail to hold
Renisha's killer accountable — as it has for so many other Black victims
of violence. And while a murder conviction could never bring Renisha
back, this is an incredibly important step forward and a rare moment of
accountability in our fight against racial profiling and violence
against Black women.

Thousands of ColorOfChange members raised our
voices and demanded that Renisha's killer be held fully accountable for
his deadly actions. We sent a clear message to the Wayne County
Prosecutor Kym Worthy that we expected her to deliver justice in this
case and that's exactly what she did. We applaud Prosecutor Worthy
for holding Renisha's killer fully accountable, as prosecutors often
fail to deliver justice when the victim is Black and the killer is
white.2

Renisha and all of the other young Black women
and men that have been murdered because of the color of their skin
deserve to be alive today to fulfill their hopes and dreams. And while a
murder conviction could never bring any of them back, we can turn our
outrage over these tragedies into action. After the verdict Renisha's
mother — Monica McBride — said, "her life mattered and we showed that."3
She's right. But our fight to end racial profiling and violence against
Black women doesn't just stop with one verdict. We have much more work
to do.

After Renisha was shot last year, thousands of
ColorOfChange members sprang into action — supporting incredible local
organizing efforts, demanding justice, and helping to raise awareness
about Renisha's death to ensure that tragic incidents like this don't
happen again. As a result of this sustained pressure, Wayne County
Prosecutor Kym Worthy filed charges against Wafer.4 But even
after charges were filed, we did not sit silent; we continued organizing
to shine a national spotlight on this tragic case and fight back
against irresponsible attempts to smear the victim. Together, we made
it clear that failure to hold Wafer accountable for his deadly actions
would send a horrifying message to the public that Black women have no
worth and they can be killed without consequence.

—Rashad, Matt, Arisha, Jamar, Lyla and the rest of the ColorOfChange.org team August 8th, 2014

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